Can you drive left hand drive cars in UK?

Short answer: yes. It’s legal to drive a left-hand car in Britain even though it’s more convenient to drive a car with a right-hand steering wheel.

However, if you are going to buy a left-hand drive car, you should keep the following things in mind:

How much insurance do I need for a left-hand drive car?

You can find cover for left-hand drive (LHD) cars the same way you find cover for right-hand drive (RHD). You can still pick between third-party policies and comprehensive policies that cover things like theft and fire.

You shouldn’t have a problem finding car cover either since insurers can tell out of the number plate whether it’s LHD or RHD.

If your car is a left-hand-drive import, you may have a limited choice of insurer. But that’s more about it being a rare car rather than the fact it’s left-handed.

Get a quiet place to practice driving

You’ll feel weird driving a left-hand drive car on UK roads, primarily because you’ll be much closer to the curb than you are in a right-hand drive model. There’s a good chance you’ll instinctively ditch the center of the road, where you’re used to being closer to, but blocking oncoming traffic can really mess things up.

It’s important not to give in to that temptation. A good way to get it out of your system is to get comfortable driving your left-hand drive car before driving it in a busy place. You should practice on some less busy roads or when there doesn’t seem to be much traffic.

What’s the cost of insuring left-hand-drive cars?

Your car insurance will probably be more expensive if it’s in left-hand drive, especially if it’s imported.

Imported cars are often considered more desirable and might be more attractive to criminals.

It could be tough to fix after an accident. You might have trouble finding parts and have to import them.

There’s a chance that you’d need to find a specialist to do the repairs since not every garage will be able to fix imported cars.

Do you know how to sell a left-hand car in the UK?

There shouldn’t be any difference between buying a left-hand drive car and buying one with a right-hand drive. In the event you’re going to sell it privately, make sure you let people know it’s a left-hand drive car in your listing – don’t forget the paperwork the new owner needs.

If you don’t like that, there are many car dealers that buy and sell LHDs. As well as taking care of all the paperwork, they’ll handle it all for you as well. If you want to sell your car privately, you’ll get a better return than if you sell it to a dealer.

What kind of paperwork do I need for a left-hand drive car?

If you drive a car, you’ll need insurance.

If you’re bringing in a left-hand-drive vehicle, you’ll need individual vehicle approval – and that’s not cheap.

You’ll need to bring your no-claim bonus (NCB) documents, assuming it’s not a second car. You’d probably start with zero no-claims bonus if it’s a second car.

Despite that, you could always talk to your insurer about your NCB beforehand.

There’s a chance they’ll mirror your existing NCB, or change it to left-hand drive from another car. They’re free to do whatever they want.